General

Invictus

by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of Circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of Chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

*Whenever life’s adversities come my way I always keep this poem in mind. But what inspires me more is that writer, William Ernest Henley, was able to survive great adversity– the poem was written from a hospital bed– and even succeeded in life. So whatever it is facing you, something worse is facing someone somewhere, and they are taking it. You can do the same.

Unsmiling

I smile not
For grim and dark
Lies the day before me.
The sun shall shine
Only once the battle ends.
If it shines down
Upon me as i stand on the field,
I shall be glad
For i shall have prevailed.
But if it shines down
Upon my battered corpse,
I shall still be glad
For i shall have fought
To my last breath.
But till then
I smile not.

2007 May 27 La Mesa Ecopark, Quezon City, Metro Manila

_IGP1454Went with some officemates to the La Mesa Ecopark in Quezon City. It’s supposed to be a photo shoot but either cameras are unavailable or the photographers aren’t so it became more of a picnic with a bit of photo shooting thrown in.

La Mesa Ecopark is a project of ABS-CBN‘s Bantay Kalikasan, an environment advocacy group who essentially created the park from jungle. The resulting park is an oasis of vegetation in the midst of the sprawling city. It has a saltwater pool, a flower terrace, an amphitheater, a butterfly trail, an orchidarium, a fishing area, a big picnic area, a biking area, and a boating area among others.

The park is well organized and managed. There was just a bit of a hassle getting our DSLRs inside (but not point-and-shoots wth?!?). It was also a bit crowded when we went but otherwise it was nice. We strolled through the various areas taking pictures. We were done by late afternoon. The place is not that big and a day is about sufficient.

Starcraft II Announced

Hell, it’s about time! Starcraft II has been announced! Jessie sent me a link to Starcraft II. I’ve seen the link before and back then it was just a redirect to the Blizzard website. So I thought it still the same. But NO! Instead there’s now a full website for the next installment of Starcraft. To be sure, the new game will have big shoes to fill. But from how it looks in the website, it looks to be a potentially worthy successor.

By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept

Last sunday, I read By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept. After reading it, I had this feeling that words can’t quite convey how beautiful the story is. I don’t know if it was just me, or the sun, or the weather but I really found it to be beautiful story. I’m really glad I read it.

It is the story of two childhood friends’ journey of discovery: discovering themselves, discovering each other, discovering their roles in this world. There may be too much religious references for some but that is just the background of the story.